Donald Trump hailed the so-called special relationship between the US and Britain as he paid a gushing tribute to King Charles during his historic second state visit, calling it one of the highest honours of his life, even as thousands of protesters voiced their anger in London.
It was a day of rarely seen pomp for a foreign leader. The president and his wife, Melania, were treated to the full array of British pageantry.
“The bond of kinship and identity between America and the United Kingdom is priceless and eternal. It’s irreplaceable and unbreakable,” Trump said in a speech during a lavish banquet at Windsor Castle.
Referring to the so-called special relationship between the US and Britain, Trump said: “Seen from American eyes, the word special does not begin to do it justice.”
Trump’s speech will be music to the ears of the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, who proffered a state visit to win favour with Trump, a well-known anglophile and overt royal fan.
Starmer hopes the trip will aid his government as it seeks to deepen economic ties, secure billions of dollars of investment, ease tariffs and allow him to press the president on Ukraine and Israel.
Above: Donald Trump stands between the Princess of Wales and King Charles, during a toast at the state banquet.
Right: Place settings at the banquet table in St George’s Hall, Windsor Castle. Photograph: Aaron Chown/Reuters Photograph: Aaron Chown/Reuters
Britain rolled out the royal red carpet, giving Trump the largest military ceremonial welcome for a state visit in living memory. Trump made little secret of his delight at being not just the first US leader but the first elected politician to be invited for two state visits.
“This is truly one of the highest honours of my life,” the president said.
As the president dined on watercress panna cotta and chicken ballotine, one guest at the banquet came as an apparent surprise to onlookers.
Rupert Murdoch, who Trump sued – along with his Wall Street Journal newspaper -over the publication of an article about him and the late Jeffrey Epstein, was on the guest list, which had been drawn up jointly by the British government and the White House.
Murdoch, whose media business has long made him a kingmaker in British politics, was spotted mingling with other guests but was sat far along the huge table from the US president.
Rupert Murdoch arrives a the Windsor Castle banquet. Photograph: Evan Vucci/AFP/Getty Images
The other guests were more conventional, including Prince William and his wife, Catherine, and Trump’s daughter Tiffany and her husband.
Several US tech CEOs were also at the dinner, including Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Open AI’s Sam Altman, reflecting the billions in tech deals going down during the visit.
Over the course of the visit, Britain is hoping to convert Trump’s affection for Britain – his mother came from Scotland – and admiration for the royals into concrete actions. Companies including Microsoft, Nvidia, Google and OpenAI have already pledged $42bn in British investments over the next few years, in AI, quantum computing and civil nuclear energy.
Starmer also wants further progress on trade, after Britain secured the first deal with Trump to guard against the worst of his tariff hikes. Talks may touch on remaining levies on steel, whisky and salmon.
“The United Kingdom was your partner in the first trade deal of your administration, Mr President, bringing jobs and growth to both our countries,” King Charles said in his speech. “And no doubt we can go even further as we build this new era of our partnership.” But while Starmer is banking on the royals to help cajole the president, pitfalls remain.
Demonstrators holding placards and Trump baby blimps take part in a protest march through central London. Photograph: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing/Getty Images
Polls show Trump is widely unpopular in Britain, and Starmer, faced with plummeting poll ratings of his own and economic woes, will need to show his royal trump card can reap benefits.
While there were some Trump supporters in crowds at Windsor outside London, several thousand people marched to protest against the state visit. The Metropolitan police estimated that there were about 5,000 people at the protest, which culminated in a rally in front of parliament.
Wednesday was all about ceremony; Trump and Melania joined Charles, Queen Camilla and other royals and dignitaries for a carriage procession, with the route lined by 1,300 British service personnel.
Later, the Trumps viewed historical items from the royal collection relating to the US, and then visited St George’s Chapel, the final resting place of Queen Elizabeth, who hosted Trump for his first state visit in 2019, to lay a wreath on her tomb. She died in September 2022.
The focus on Thursday will turn to geopolitics and trade when Starmer hosts Trump at his Chequers country residence.
With Reuters and Agence France-Presse